Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xiaohua searched the Human Pavilion and found three ancient items with vital energy, then avoided scrutiny by registering only an ordinary Earth Pavilion sword. He left with the bracelet hidden in his clothes and learned that the Human Pavilion’s contents were not recorded individually.

• After finding nothing worthwhile on the upper floors, Zhang Xiaohua searched the Human Pavilion’s first floor and found a small shield, an eight-sided mirror, and a beaded bracelet.
• Zhang Xiaohua stored the shield and mirror in his money pouch, but hid the bracelet in his clothes when it would not fit.
• With his hour nearly over, Zhang Xiaohua returned to the Earth Pavilion, took a long sword, and left with Senior Brother Zheng.
• Senior Brother Jia recorded that Ren Xiaoyao had taken a sword from the Earth Pavilion’s first floor, explaining that only Heaven Pavilion items received detailed inspections and records.
• Senior Brother Zheng returned Zhang Xiaohua’s entry token and suggested he bring a new token if he came back.

Zhang Xiaohua searched Fuqiu Peak and found and refined its Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace, bringing the number he possessed to three. As he traveled toward Yi Xiang Peak, he examined his bracelet, shield, and mirror, and the mirror suddenly refracted a faint beam of light toward the peak ahead.

• Zhang Xiaohua left Huanhuan below and tunneled to Fuqiu Peak’s summit, where he found a large alchemy chamber and an Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace.
• Zhang Xiaohua refined the furnace and stored it in his belt with the two furnaces he had already collected.
• Two days later, Zhang Xiaohua traveled toward Yi Xiang Peak and examined the thirty-six-bead bracelet, but could not determine its use.
• Zhang Xiaohua tried to understand the shield and little mirror, finding that the shield’s restriction resisted his divine sense and the mirror seemed ordinary.
• Zhang Xiaohua tossed the mirror into the sunlight, and it refracted a nearly invisible beam toward the mountain peak ahead.

Ren Xiaoyao refused Yue Zhuoqun’s lavish offers to buy Huanhuan, then revealed he was a provisional inner sect alchemy disciple bound for Yi Xiang Peak. Yue ended the encounter politely but said he would seek Ren out later, while his companions questioned Zhang Ping'er’s interest in him.

• Ren Xiaoyao yielded the mountain road to Yue Zhuoqun and the Yi Xiang Peak disciples, but Huanhuan’s cry made Yue stop and inspect the beast.
• Yue Zhuoqun offered Ren Xiaoyao increasingly generous bottles of pills for Huanhuan, but Ren repeatedly refused to trade his cherished mount.
• Junior Brother Feng tried to intimidate Ren Xiaoyao, while Yue Zhuoqun restrained him and urged Ren to reconsider the offer.
• Ren Xiaoyao identified himself as a provisional inner sect alchemy disciple, and Yue Zhuoqun recognized that Zhang Ping'er had recently sought to recruit someone for the position.
• Yue Zhuoqun and his group rode on, and Junior Brother Yang remarked that Zhang Ping'er had spent months working for someone as ordinary as Ren Xiaoyao.

Yue Zhuoqun grew wary of Zhang Xiaohua and planned to block his probationary pill-refining appointment before it became official. Zhang Xiaohua sensed an unexplained disturbance as he neared Yi Xiang Peak, where Zhang Ping'er had spent days waiting for him.

• Yue Zhuoqun told Junior Brother Yang that Zhang Ping'er had changed after You Lan Mu Lian and that he suspected Ren Xiaoyao was a rival for her affection.
• Yue Zhuoqun decided to use his influence to prevent Zhang Xiaohua from becoming an official pill-refining disciple, and Junior Brother Yang praised his plan.
• Zhang Xiaohua sensed that something was amiss through his early understanding of the Way of Cause and Effect, but he could not identify the source and continued toward Yi Xiang Peak.
• Zhang Xiaohua reached Yi Xiang Peak after nearly another day on the road, while Zhang Ping'er waited anxiously for him at the foot of the mountain.
• A fellow disciple teased Zhang Ping'er for pacing and waiting since the tenth day, and Zhang Ping'er wondered whether Zhang Xiaohua still did not want to come to Yi Xiang Peak.

Zhang Xiaohua reached Yi Xiang Peak and was mistaken for an intruder after he failed to notice its protective formation. He showed his waist token as the guards attacked, then rushed through the formation and onto the mountain road, where someone cried out in surprise.

• Zhang Xiaohua marveled at Yi Xiang Peak’s vast size and rich Primordial Qi before reaching its entrance near dusk.
• Zhang Xiaohua approached the Xiubei Stele, and a white-clad disciple rebuked him for getting too close to the sacred object.
• Zhang Xiaohua explained that he had arrived under Cult Master’s decree without learning the peak’s rules, and the disciple let him proceed toward the mountain road.
• Zhang Xiaohua collided with the mountain-protecting formation, prompting Senior Brother Wei to accuse him of being a thief and order the disciples to seize him.
• Zhang Xiaohua defended himself against two attackers and tried to show Senior Brother Wei his genuine waist token, but Wei dismissed it and advanced with his sword.
• Zhang Xiaohua ran onto the mountain road, passed through the formation with his waist token, and heard a startled cry ahead.

Zhang Xiaohua passed Yi Xiang Peak’s restriction with his waist token, and Zhang Ping'er defended him after Senior Brother Wei accused him of disrespecting the Xiubei Stele. Zhang Ping'er explained that she had arranged for him to become a probationary alchemy disciple, and Zhang Xiaohua ended by asking whether any Guiyuan Grass remained.

• Zhang Xiaohua used his waist token to pass through the restriction, and Zhang Ping'er recognized him as the junior brother she had met on Shixin Peak.
• Senior Brother Wei described Zhang Xiaohua’s actions at the Xiubei Stele, but Zhang Ping'er argued that he had broken no rule by examining it.
• Zhang Ping'er checked Zhang Xiaohua’s waist token and watched him pass through the formation again with Huanhuan, while Senior Brother Wei said he would report the earlier incident.
• Zhang Ping'er told Zhang Xiaohua that she had arranged for him to enter Lihuo Hall as a probationary alchemy disciple, and he thanked her.
• Zhang Ping'er said her master had recovered after Martial Uncle refined pills with Zhang Xiaohua’s Guiyuan Grass, and Zhang Xiaohua asked her to return any remaining grass to its rightful owner.

Zhang Ping'er guided Zhang Xiaohua toward Lihuo Hall and explained the inner sect’s divisions and rules, while Zhang Xiaohua asked about the Guiyuan Grass and Envoy Mu. Their conversation was interrupted by Third Senior Sister Bing, who recognized Zhang Ping'er's efforts on Zhang Xiaohua’s behalf and mocked his appearance.

• Zhang Ping'er said she would ask her martial uncle whether any Guiyuan Grass remained, but Zhang Xiaohua told her not to trouble herself if it was difficult.
• Zhang Ping'er explained that inner disciples lived in separate areas of Yi Xiang Peak, that Lihuo Hall occupied the lower slopes, and that Ruijin Hall guarded the routes between areas.
• Zhang Ping'er told Zhang Xiaohua that Envoy Mu lived with the Mocu Palace disciples near the summit, and she laughed at his joke about the mountain winds reddening a deputy hall master’s face.
• Third Senior Sister Bing confronted Zhang Ping'er and Zhang Xiaohua for laughing loudly, then revealed she knew Zhang Ping'er had spent months making arrangements for him.
• Third Senior Sister Bing inspected Zhang Xiaohua and sneered that he was ordinary-looking, questioning what had attracted Zhang Ping'er to him.

Zhang Xiaohua and Zhang Ping'er confronted Third Senior Disciple Sister, who accused them of scheming and demanded an apology. After Zhang Xiaohua mocked her until she stormed off, Zhang Ping'er led him to the grand palaces of Lihuo Hall.

• Zhang Ping'er defended Zhang Xiaohua and reminded Third Senior Disciple Sister that he had given her the Guiyuan Grass that cured their Master's illness.
• Third Senior Disciple Sister attacked Zhang Xiaohua, but Zhang Ping'er stepped between them and took the force of their palm strike.
• Zhang Xiaohua mocked Third Senior Disciple Sister and argued that she had no authority over him because he was no longer a Pill-Refining Hall disciple.
• Third Senior Disciple Sister threatened Zhang Ping'er and Zhang Xiaohua, then fled into the woods when he pretended to offer her extra clothing.
• Zhang Ping'er worried that Third Senior Disciple Sister might cause trouble for Zhang Xiaohua in the Medicine Courtyard, but he dismissed her concern.
• Zhang Ping'er showed Zhang Xiaohua the palaces of Lihuo Hall, and he apologized for arriving late with an excuse about duties at Shixin Peak.

Zhang Xiaohua and Zhang Ping'er reached Lihuo Hall, where he met Shui Linglong and learned that she planned to help him after his clash with Mei Suhua. They arrived at Zhang Ping'er's master's pavilion, and the Vice Hall Master welcomed him before remarking on his qinggong.

• Zhang Ping'er urged Zhang Xiaohua to avoid trouble on Yi Xiang Peak, and he agreed to show restraint unless someone bullied them.
• Shui Linglong greeted Zhang Ping'er and Zhang Xiaohua, praised his composure, and offered to speak with Second Senior Sister about Mei Suhua.
• Zhang Ping'er and Zhang Xiaohua continued through the mountain corridors to the pavilion where her master was waiting.
• Zhang Xiaohua introduced himself to the Vice Hall Master, who welcomed him as her lifesaver and invited him inside.
• As Zhang Xiaohua followed Zhang Ping'er across the floating bridge, the Vice Hall Master remarked that his qinggong was quite good.

Ren Xiaoyao met Zhang Ping'er’s master, the Vice Hall Master of Lihuo Hall, who thanked him for saving her and arranged for him to take the required martial arts assessment. After Zhang Ping'er left him at the dining hall, the other disciples’ wary reactions drew the attention of a stern senior disciple who identified Ren Xiaoyao as the recommended alchemy disciple.

• Zhang Xiaohua told the Vice Hall Master that he practiced Mighty Ox Strength, and she questioned how he had become so skilled.
• The Vice Hall Master bowed to Zhang Xiaohua to thank him for saving her, then told him to follow Zhang Ping'er and pass the martial arts assessment.
• Zhang Ping'er arranged for Junior Brother Zhai to guide Zhang Xiaohua to his lodging after he ate in the dining hall.
• The disciples stared at and whispered about Zhang Xiaohua, while Junior Brother Zhai sat at another table and left him alone.
• A stern, sallow-faced disciple sat beside Zhang Xiaohua, then asked if he was the alchemy disciple recommended by Senior Sister Zhang and promised to guide him later.

Zhang Xiaohua settled into a spare house at Lihuo Hall and evaded a nighttime snoop. At Yi Xiang Peak, Chen Chen and Peacock discussed the Direct Selection and the Fantian Cultivation Method before Chen Chen recounted Zhang Xiaohua’s adventures to them.

• Junior Brother Zhai showed Zhang Xiaohua to a secluded room prepared for him at Lihuo Hall, where Zhang began cultivating.
• A dark-clad figure secretly approached Zhang Xiaohua’s house, listened outside and on the roof, then left; Zhang emerged and watched him depart.
• Abbess Jingfan discussed the Direct Selection with Peacock and Chen Chen and urged Peacock to reconsider her compassionate views of the Fantian Cultivation Method.
• Chen Chen explained that Zhong Pei had risked others’ lives to prove loyalty to the Cult Master, while Peacock objected to using innocents as bargaining chips.
• Chen Chen told Peacock and Abbess Jingfan that she had encountered Ren Xiaoyao at Shixin Peak and described his experiences, leaving both women absorbed in her story.

Abbess Jingfan explained why the Incense-Passing Cult had joined the effort against the Misty Sect and revealed that its true aim was to find a way to save its failing Immortal Path inheritance. She left Peacock and Chen Chen with a cryptic assurance that martial arts would not decide the upcoming Direct Selection.

• Abbess Jingfan and Peacock believed Chen Chen’s account that Ren Xiaoyao had risked his life to save Pill-Refining Hall disciples, and Jingfan recalled that another rescued disciple had been offered provisional entry into Lihuo Hall.
• Abbess Jingfan warned that the Incense-Passing Cult had failed to find a suitable inheritor for nearly fifty years and that its inheritance Secret Chamber was becoming increasingly troublesome.
• Abbess Jingfan explained that the Cult Master had agreed to join Zhang San’s alliance against the Misty Sect to investigate its inheritance, but Zhang San’s killings and Ouyang Peng’s suicide made the situation spiral out of control.
• Abbess Jingfan revealed that the Cult Master had found a place better than Misty Peak that might solve the Secret Chamber’s problem, but Ouyang Peng’s death had left its location and entrance unknown.
• Abbess Jingfan urged Peacock and Chen Chen to distinguish themselves in the Direct Selection, then hinted that martial arts would not be the deciding factor.

Peacock prepared for the upcoming direct selection while Zhang Xiaohua explored Lihuo Hall and learned about its costly spirit-herb cultivation. After Zhang Ping’er’s test was delayed, Senior Brother Ma summoned him to meet Senior Brother Yan, whom Zhang Xiaohua recognized when he arrived at a secluded mountain hollow.

• Abbess Jingfan explained that the direct selection depended on more than martial arts, and urged Peacock and Chen Chen to cultivate for their one-time opportunity.
• Peacock wondered why she kept thinking about her nemesis, while Zhang Xiaohua unknowingly slept far below her in Lihuo Hall.
• Zhang Xiaohua toured Lihuo Hall with Zhang Ping’er, learned that spirit-herb cultivation consumed a scarce resource, and heard that Yi Xiang Peak’s restrictions made it difficult to reach Zhong Pei.
• Zhang Ping’er’s master postponed Zhang Xiaohua’s martial arts test because Mocu Palace had urgent affairs, leaving him without an inner disciple’s waist token.
• Senior Brother Ma pressured Zhang Xiaohua to visit Senior Brother Yan, and Zhang Xiaohua followed him to a mountain hollow.
• Zhang Xiaohua saw Senior Brother Yan sitting on a boulder and recognized him with surprise.

Yan Jianhan tried to persuade Zhang Xiaohua to leave Lihuo Hall and stay away from Zhang Ping'er, then attacked him when he refused. Zhang Xiaohua defeated Yan Jianhan and used the Soul-Bewitching Finger to make him answer questions in a vacant, controlled state.

• Yan Jianhan offered Zhang Xiaohua pills and an Internal Energy Cultivation Method if he returned to Baiyue Peak, and warned him to stay away from Zhang Ping'er.
• Zhang Xiaohua tried to explain his relationship with Zhang Ping'er, but Yan Jianhan accused him of lying and seized his shoulder.
• Zhang Xiaohua broke free and fought Yan Jianhan, whose attacks and Internal Energy initially impressed him.
• Zhang Xiaohua tapped Yan Jianhan's acupoints and used the Soul-Bewitching Finger, leaving Yan Jianhan vacant-eyed and compliant.
• Zhang Xiaohua asked Yan Jianhan his name, and Yan Jianhan answered slowly.

Zhang Xiaohua learned about Lihuo Hall’s rivalries and Zhang Ping’er’s history after winning Yan Jianhan’s trust, then reunited with Zhang Ping’er. She warned him that her jealous Third Senior Sister would preside over his martial arts test the next day.

• Yan Jianhan escorted Zhang Xiaohua back and told Senior Brother Ma to treat him as a Lihuo Hall brother, though he later wondered why his head and face hurt.
• Zhang Xiaohua questioned Yan Jianhan about Zhong Pei, Zhang Ping’er, and Yue Zhuoqun, learning about Zhang Ping’er’s standing, Mei Suhua’s jealousy, and the rivalry surrounding her.
• Zhang Xiaohua learned that Yan Jianhan had resented his closeness to Zhang Ping’er and his entry into Lihuo Hall, then followed Senior Brother Ma back.
• Zhang Ping’er found Zhang Xiaohua, and he told her he had gone out for a walk; her laughter and his teasing left her blushing.
• Zhang Ping’er told Zhang Xiaohua that an unexpected change meant Third Senior Sister would preside over his martial arts test the next day.

Zhang Ping'er warned Zhang Xiaohua that Mei Suhua would control his unusually flexible martial arts test and could make it difficult, while Yue Zhuoqun watched the two of them with resentment. At Abbess Jingfan's courtyard, the disciples discussed Zixia's worries and learned the direct selection ceremony had been moved to tomorrow because a Mocu Palace disciple had supposedly been killed by a bolt of golden lightning.

• Zhang Ping'er told Zhang Xiaohua that Mei Suhua would preside over his test the next morning and could decide how it was conducted and judged.
• Zhang Xiaohua tried to reassure Zhang Ping'er, who left upset after he joked that he could return to Pill-Refining Hall as a medicine boy.
• Yue Zhuoqun watched Zhang Xiaohua and Zhang Ping'er from behind a pavilion, then left with a cold smile.
• Peacock and Chen Chen questioned Zixia about her gloomy mood, but she denied that anything was troubling her.
• Abbess Jingfan told Peacock and Chen Chen that the direct selection ceremony had been moved up to the next day.
• Abbess Jingfan said a Mocu Palace disciple had been struck dead by golden lightning in clear weather, and Chen Chen asked whether the victim was male or female.

Abbess Jingfan explained that Zhong Pei’s death might have been caused by an emerging Dharma artifact and told Chen Chen, Senior Sister Peacock, and Zixia about the dangers of the Heart Refining Cave selection. The selection was moved to the next day, and the chapter ended as Zhang Ping'er arrived to tell Zhang Xiaohua that Third Senior Sister had gone too far.

• Chen Chen condemned Zhong Pei for his cruelty, while Senior Sister Peacock and Abbess Jingfan questioned whether divine thunder had killed him.
• Senior Sister Peacock suggested a Dharma artifact had caused Zhong Pei’s death, and Abbess Jingfan said the Cult Master suspected a predecessor’s artifact was emerging outside Yi Xiang Peak.
• Abbess Jingfan announced that the direct selection would take place the next day at Heart Refining Cave, where candidates faced a dangerous illusion and killing formation.
• Abbess Jingfan warned Chen Chen, Senior Sister Peacock, and Zixia not to trust what they saw in the cave and to put their lives first.
• Zhang Xiaohua finished practicing the Big Dipper Divine Fist, and Zhang Ping'er arrived angrily to say that Third Senior Sister had gone too far.

Zhang Xiaohua learned that Mei Suhua had set his martial arts test in the dangerous Ghost Valley: he had to find a thousand-year-old Ghost-Faced Mushroom. He entered the valley with the Prajna Heavy Sword, while a pale figure slipped in behind him.

• Zhang Ping'er told Zhang Xiaohua that Ghost Valley was an old herb-growing gorge now shrouded in mist that could drive visitors mad.
• A disciple summoned Zhang Xiaohua to the valley entrance, and Zhang Xiaohua took the Prajna Heavy Sword instead of his lost short sword.
• Mei Suhua set Zhang Xiaohua the task of finding a thousand-year-old Ghost-Faced Mushroom, despite Zhang Ping'er protesting that the demand was unreasonable.
• Zhang Xiaohua entered Licu Valley, and a pale figure secretly darted inside after Zhang Ping'er turned away.

At Yi Xiang Peak, the Cult Master and three Elders opened the Heart Refining Cave for Mocu Palace’s once-in-ten-years direct selection, sending eighteen disciples inside. Peacock entered an illusory starry void, recalled Abbess Jingfan’s warning about heart demons, and then faced a scene that filled her with fury.

• The three Elders used their Origin Stones to open the Heart Refining Cave, and the Cult Master urged the eighteen disciples to prove themselves worthy of inheriting the Cult Master position.
• The disciples entered the cave in order, with Chen Chen first and Peacock last; afterward, the Cult Master and Elders worried about their dwindling Origin Stones and the disciples’ chances of passing.
• Peacock fell through a star-filled void, panicked, then slowed down when she remembered that the cave depended on her thoughts.
• A vision of Abbess Jingfan appeared and reminded Peacock that the cave was an illusion she could escape by recognizing her true heart and overcoming her heart demons.
• Peacock recalled her master’s instructions, wondered what her own heart demon was, and watched the starry scene collapse into a sight that filled her with fury.

Peacock relived her childhood trauma in Heart Refining Cave and changed her family's fate, while Zhang Xiaohua entered Ghost Valley and confronted Yue Zhuoqun, who had followed him there. Yue revealed his intention to kill Zhang Xiaohua, leaving their clash imminent.

• Peacock found herself as a child before the day her father planned to sell her and her mother, and she reunited with her mother in the flower room.
• Peacock led her mother to her father outside the Silver Hook Gambling House and prevented the tragedy, later living a prosperous life with her family and husband.
• Zhang Xiaohua entered Ghost Valley, held his breath against the poisonous mist, and gathered herbs and mushrooms as he searched for thousand-year-old Ghost-Faced Mushrooms.
• Zhang Xiaohua reached a slope where the ghost mist thickened, noticed someone following him, and called out the masked figure.
• Yue Zhuoqun revealed himself, mocked Zhang Xiaohua, and made clear that he had followed him into Ghost Valley to kill him.